There were no skyscrapers in the ancient world, but there were tall buildings. Some of them were built in order to perpetuate the glory of the ruler, scientists still argue about the appointment of others.
Pot-bellied Hill
Height: up to 9 m
Construction time: 9,000 BC
Location: 15 kilometers northeast of the city of Urfa (Sanliurfa), Turkey
"Göbekli Tepe" - this is the name of this place in Turkish. The oldest and unique temple for its time, the construction of which began in the Middle Stone Age. About twenty round structures, stone benches, sculptures of wild boars and foxes, columns from 3 to 9 meters high. A thousand years later, it was deliberately covered with sand. The already organized society was able to build huge heavy blocks.
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Jericho tower
Height: 8 m
Construction time: 8000 BC
Location: Jericho, Palestine
A huge tower for its time in the Jericho Wall. Jericho is the most ancient city on earth. It has been continuously inhabited since almost 10 millennium BC. BC, although the earliest settlement was rather a large village. The purpose of the tower is not entirely clear. It could be used for intimidation and represent the first castle in history.
The Pyramid of Cheops
Height: 146 m
Construction time: from 2540 BC until 2850 BC according to various estimates
Location: El Giza, Egypt
The pyramid of Cheops (the full name of the pharaoh is Khnum-Khufu) is the only one that has survived from the Seven Wonders of the World. Its full name is Akhet-Khufu ("Horizon Khufu"). It was built on a hill and clad in white limestone, peach-colored in the sun. The top was crowned with a gilded stone - a pyramidion. The entrance was covered with a large granite slab, which the Baghdad caliph Abdullah Al-Mamun could not move, who made a new entrance, through which the way to the pyramid is still open.
Nurag Su-Nuraxi
Height: about 20 m.
Construction time: 17th century BC
Location: the commune of Barumini, about. Sardinia, Italy
Nuragi are megalith towers found on the island of Sardinia, built in the II millennium BC. e. Their number throughout the island reached 20,000. The towers could serve to survey the surroundings, defense and control over trade routes. At this time, Sardinia, according to ancient legends, could be inhabited by the tribes of the Kors, Iolais and Balars. Which of these tribes built the towers is unknown. The builders could also be the "peoples of the sea", who more than once attacked the Egyptian kingdom.
The largest known nuraghe is Su-Nuraksi, whose height could reach 20 meters. The structure did not have a foundation and was supported only by the mass of stones at the base. Next to it there was a fortified settlement - about 50 round huts, which were a single complex.
Babylonian ziggurat of Etemenanki
Height: 91 m
Construction time: XVIII century BC, reconstruction in the VII century BC
Location: Outskirts of Al Hillah, Iraq
Translated from the Sumerian, Etemenanki is "the house of the foundation of heaven and earth" or "the house where heaven meets earth." It is this ziggurat that is most often associated with the legend of the Tower of Babel. It existed already in the 18th century BC. during the reign of Hammurabi, however, after that the tower-temple was rebuilt several times after the destruction.
The latest reconstruction made the tower one of the tallest and grandest buildings in the ancient world. The ziggurat consisted of 7 tiers, the last of which was a temple. The construction was started by the architect Aradahesh under King Esarhaddon, and the ziggurat was completed under Nebuchadnezzar II, 100 years later.
Halicarnassus mausoleum
Height: 46 m
Construction time: 359-353 BC e.
Location: Bodrum, Turkey
The first "mausoleum" and "wonder of the world". Named after the Carian king Mavsol. In honor of him, this tombstone was built by his wife Artemisia III of Caria. The mausoleum was crowned with about 330 statues, and it itself had the shape of an almost regular square, which was atypical for Greek architecture. It stood for one and a half thousand years and was destroyed during an earthquake.
The Colossus of Rhodes
Height: 36 m
Construction time: 292 - 280 BC e.
Location: Rhodes, Greece
Rhodes in ancient times was a large and rich city. Therefore, he could afford to live in a literal sense "on a grand scale." A huge statue of Helios, only a few of which could grasp the thumb, was built by the ancient Greek architect Hares. The lack of money allocated for the construction forced him to run into large debts, and, ruined, he committed suicide.
The statue took 500 bronze talents and 300 iron talents (more than 20 tons). The colossus only stood for 65 years. After the earthquake, the clay statue covered with iron and bronze fell, and lay in a broken state for about a thousand years, until the Arabs sold off its parts.
Pharos lighthouse
Height: 135 m
Construction time: III century BC e.
Location: Alexandria, Egypt
The lighthouse of Alexandria was built in just 5 years by Sotratus of Cnidus on the island of Pharos near Alexandria. It consisted of three marble towers: rectangular, octagonal and cylindrical. After its construction under the first Ptolemies, Egypt truly became a land of giant buildings. The light from the lighthouse was visible at a distance of more than 50 kilometers. It survived two earthquakes in the 7th and 14th centuries, after which it was finally destroyed. On the remains of the lighthouse, the Mamluk sultan erected a fortress in his honor.
Coliseum
Height: 50 m
Construction time: 80 AD e.
Location: Rome, Italy
Colosseum comes from the Latin word colosseus - "huge". According to one version, the name arose as a tribute to the memory of the Colossus of Nero, located on this site - a huge (37 m) statue that crowned the complex of the Golden House - the palace of the emperor. Vespasian decided to get rid of the old cult and strengthen his own. The grandiose construction involved about 100,000 prisoners brought to Rome. An earthquake in the XIV century collapsed its southern part, after which the Colosseum became a source of building materials for other buildings in Rome.
Kanishki stupa
Height: from 128 to 168 m according to various estimates
Time of construction: 2nd century AD
Location: near the city of Peshawar, Pakistan
The Kushan kingdom, founded by immigrants from China - the Eastern Sarmatians (Yuezhi), became the "golden mean" of the ancient world both literally (in terms of wealth) and in a figurative sense. Greco-Buddhism, the Eastern religion saturated with Hellenistic culture spread there.
According to the description of Chinese travelers, the stupa built in honor of the Kushan king exceeded 400 chi (128 m), there were gold and silver umbrellas at the top, and the relics of Buddha inside. The size data vary, but the stupa could be equal to or exceed the height of the Cheops pyramid. Many Buddhist legends and predictions are associated with the stupa. It was destroyed by Muslim conquerors in the Middle Ages and has not survived to this day.
Aksum obelisk
Height: 24 m
Construction time: IV century A. D.
Location: Aksum, Ethiopia
The construction of the Aksumite kingdom that has survived to our time, the most influential in Black Africa, weighing 160 tons. Decorated on all sides with false windows and doors. Similar obelisks were erected by pagans, but this obelisk was erected in honor of King Ezana, who spread Christianity in Ethiopia. In 1937, it was actually assembled piece by piece and rebuilt.
Pyramid at Cholula
Height: 66 m
Construction time: 3rd century BC - XI century AD
Location: Cholula de Rivadabia, Mexico
The tallest structure of Ancient America and the largest pyramid in the world in terms of volume. Built in ancient Teotiukan. The temple dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl was built over 12 centuries by pre-Aztec culture until it became the largest religious center. Today it is a four-sided overgrown hill, a small part of which has been recreated in its original form.